The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

The Second World war and Boer war veteran Major Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey) finds himself in charge of a home guard unit under attack from a young ambitious lieutenant.

Wynne-Candy,now a rotund and seemingly blustery old duffer is outraged when the Lieutenant and his troops invade his London Club breaking all the rules of fair warfare.

The two men argue then wrestle each other and end up falling into a swimming pool. As Wynne Candy emerges from the pool he has now become a young man and his life in the military is told in a series of flashbacks.

Audacious and simply brilliant, Blimp is years ahead of its time in its structure and sentiments.

Although this is far from been an anti-war movie, it certainly isn't a drum beating, flag waving slice of propaganda.

Made at the height of the Second World War, Colonel Blimp is more of an attack on the British military system and its rather staid institutionalism's. Winston Churchill disliked the movie and made moves to get it banned because of the appearance of a sympathetic German although many historians note the resemblance between Blimp and Churchill himself.

Made in 1943, Blimp is now rightly considered a masterpiece of British Cinema, the acting is exemplary, Roger Livesey gives the performance of his life and Deborah Kerr is simply mesmerising.

A considerable legacy of Powell and Pressburger films, the colour cinematography leaves the viewer in awe and introduced the legendary Jack Cardiff as one of the camera operators.

Blimp is a lovely, sad romantic (and at times, very funny) movie that leaves more questions than answers, its complex and bold narrative is startling and is a triumph of deft editing.

The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp is one of the finest war movies ever, one of the best British movies of all time and quite possibly a contender for one of the best movies of all time.

Secuestro express (2005)

Every sixty minutes, a person in Latin America is abducted. 70% of the victims do not survive.
Secuestro Express is based in Caracas, Venezuela and is the story of a young couple from a wealthy background who are the latest unwilling victims of three organised and dangerous kidnappers. The kidnappers earn a living by extorting money from rich parents after they have carried out their kidnaps. Carla and Martins ordeal looks like lasting the night.
Express works better as a political statement than an enjoyable movie.
Working the cameraman to the max, Express is a kinetic and frenzied dog of a film.
The acting is mediocre at best and its most well known actor Ruben Blades is given very little to work with.
Director Jonathon Jakubowicz`s pretentious screenplay, in a meaningful attempt to deliver on its social agenda fails because of its trashy and exploitative nature.
In an effort to ram home its anti-Capitalism message, Secuestro strains a little too hard and only ends up confusing the viewer.
Caracas, in the worst advert ever for the Venezuelan tourist board is displayed as a dangerous, sordid and uncompromising city where no-one can be trusted (not even the police) and violent death is only a heartbeat away.
As a thriller, Express doesn't quite work, its hard to actually care for any of the characters and the tension ebbs away towards an inevitable climax.
The message serves an uncomfortable truth but to serve up a trio of murderous psychotic gunmen as modern day Robin Hoods only helps to undermine an already deeply flawed movie.
Interesting as a parable of modern day life in Latin America but this film shouldn't be construed as anything else but a decidedly average pot-boiler.

36 (2004)

Two Parisian cops are on the trail of a murderous and well drilled gang of armed robbers.

Their paths clash as each is up for the position of CID Boss and the catching of the criminals becomes a sideline when a corrupt power struggle begins to develop.

36 Quai des Orfevres is the address of the C.I.D headquarters in Paris as familiar to the French as Scotland Yard is to the English.

Although delivering an extremely entertaining film, the Director, Olivier Marchal (himself a Gendarme for 12 years) over indulges himself and the serpentine plot almost spirals out of control.

Without a doubt, 36 is a flawed, cliche ridden production but it is also stylish and fast paced and the acting from two serious heavyweights, Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu is impeccable.

As a realistic portrayal of inner city French policing, 36 falls way short. The main protagonists are heavy drinking, unscrupulous and occasionally brutal guardians of the law.

There are a few too many killings which hinder the plot and I'm sure the Paris tourist board are not too happy that their city is portrayed as a crime ridden war zone.

There are also some serious holes in the plot that you could drive a seriously big truck through but for all its faults, 36 is a very likable movie.

It is intense, super slick and relentless and as entertaining a movie you could possibly wish to see. Catch it now before Hollywood re-makes it.

The King(2005)

Elvis(Gael Garcia Bernal) recently released from the Navy seeks out the father he has never known.

His father, David Sandow (William Hurt) is now a hellfire preacher in the bible belt of America and is married with 2 children and at first wants little to do with his long lost son.

Elvis begins an illicit affair with Sandow's 16yr old daughter and begins to slowly worm his way into the pastors family structure.

If you are currently on suicide watch or suffering from a serious bout of depression, I would strongly advise you not to watch this film, feel good movie is definitely not the way I would describe it.

This shouldn't put you off though, this is an impeccably acted film which deals with the everyday subjects of incest, redemption,family and religion.

The king is unsettling and at times difficult to watch, it is also potent and shocking.

Bernal is mesmerising as the lonely drifter and continues to prove his versatility as his star-meter continues to grow. He is ably backed up by Hurt who subtly convinces the audience of his obsessive faith.

A troubling movie that wallows in its own degradation and challenges the very fabric of life itself, how far can forgiveness stretch and do we all pay for our past sins.

A picture that is challenging and entertaining, the King is a morally twisted parable that defies pigeonholing but ends up been one of the best films of the year.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)

Recently released from prison after spending 13 years inside for the kidnapping and murder of a young child, Lee Geum-Ja begins her rehabilitation and plots her revenge against the man really responsible for the heinous crime.

South Korea is one of the few countries in the world where, until recently, Hollywood productions did not enjoy a dominant share of the domestic market and with movies such as A Tale Of Two Sisters, Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Western audiences continue to be equally delighted and perplexed.

Sympathy is not a straightforward revenge thriller, its a tale of redemption and distortion and is played out on a grandeur scale.

Lee Geum-Ja (as played by the excellent Lee Young Ae) has a complex disposition and is portrayed as kind hearted and generous and brutal and psychotic (sometimes, in the same scene).

Her motives soon become clear and we are subject to savage prison scenes as Lee Geum-Ja makes many allies amongst her fellow inmates.

Early in the movie director Park Chan-Wook masterfully draws the audience in with his dazzling visuals, the opening credits being a highlight, later on the lighting becomes darker as the movie takes on a more profound tone.

Sympathy is at times mesmerising, there are no body ridden shootouts and much of the gore and violence happens off screen yet this is a cold and calculating movie and at times is very disturbing. It is unflinching in its portrayal of retribution and its characters are fleshed out in such a way that we understand their anguish and terror.

This is Korean cinema at its very best tackling subjects Hollywood would never touch, Sympathy is also the best of Parks "revenge" trilogy beating even "Oldboy" with its majestic storytelling.

A Gothic, potent and dark tale, sympathy is a movie that believes in its own convictions and drags the viewer into its sordid tale of revenge and suffering.Highly recommended.

Black Narcissus (1947)

The year is 1947 and in an India still months away from Independence, five Catholic Nuns travel to a remote location in the Himalayas to set up a school and dispensary for the locals.
Under the leadership of Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the nuns begin to face mounting difficulties and insurmountable obstacles. As the surroundings and atmosphere begins to play tricks with the sisters emotions, tensions rise and the Nuns begin to question their faith.
Thrown into this mix, English agent Mr Dean (David Farrar) suddenly finds himself the recipient of unwanted attention.

Erotically charged melodrama that is years ahead of its time, for a 1947 PG certificate movie, ( Original rating A) Black Narcissus pushes the boundaries of sexual tension trumping any movie made in this enlightened age.
Deborah Carr smolders as the Sister Superior, her austere and unyielding manner betraying her conflicting emotions, she is backed up by a stunning tour De force from Kathleen Byron
whose gradual descent into madness coincides with her loss of faith and sexual re-emergence.
Byron is Mister Hyde to Carr's Dr Jekyll.
The rest of the acting is a little stifled, Farrar plays the blunt Englishman with a dash of arrogance and aloofness while Sabu is basically a liability as the Young General.
Considered by many film critics to be one of the finest colour films ever, Narcissus is a challenging landscape of images (astonishing, considering must of the photography was created in a studio and the outdoor locations were shot in England).
The legendary Jack Cardiff's cinematography is simply breathtaking and leaves the viewer in awe.
Many stand-out scenes include the bell ringing, the Christmas concert and the confrontation between Sister Clodagh and a newly de-frocked Sister Ruth.

Unquestionably Micheal Powell and Emeric Pressburger are amongst the most innovative filmmakers of all time and in Black Narcissus they possibly created their masterpiece and arguably one of the best British films of all time.

Sophie Scholl:The Final Days(2005)

This movie is a historical recreation of the last days of Sophie Scholl, a member of a non violent German resistance movement during the Second World War.
After the German army suffered heavy losses at the battle of Stalingrad, a small number of University students appalled with the stories of Nazi atrocities that were filtering through to them set up an anti war group called the White Rose.
In and around Munich University, a campaign is Spearheaded by the students as they organise leaflet handouts and daub graffiti over government buildings attacking Hitler and his policies.

After a leaflet drop in the main square of the University, Sophie and her brother Hans are spotted by the janitor and are subsequently arrested by the Gestapo.

After a period of interrogation and cross examining, Sophie, Hans and their friend Christoph Probst are charged with high treason, troop demoralization and aiding the enemy.

They are sentenced to death and are executed by guillotine only six days after their arrest.

German Cinema continues to reach deep into its soul in examining and questioning the actions of the Nazis during the second World War.

Following on from the utterly stunning "Downfall", Sophie Scholl offers a realistic and convincing backdrop of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances anchored by a truly unforgettable performance by Julia Jentish (bearing a remarkable resemblance to the American Actress Claire Danes) as Sophie.

As the opening scenes play out like a first rate espionage romp, the movie soon turns into a courtroom thriller and Jentish finds the perfect pitch along with the rest of the cast.

Alexander Held as Sophie's interrogating officer who is subtlety forced to re-examine his beliefs has the other standout performance.

The director Marc Rothemund meticulously recreates the era working from long buried historical records, many of the protagonists are depicted as flawed individuals and only the President of the peoples Court, Roland Freisler comes across as a stereotypical fanatical Nazi . This is a straightforward tale of heroism and bravery, there are no fancy camera angles or gimmicky editing and the audience are subjected to a matter of fact re-telling from one of the darkest periods of modern history.

Many stand out scenes include Sophie's last meeting with her parents before her execution and the actual executions which are carried out as the viewer sees a blank screen, but it is the courtroom scenes which have the most impact as we watch a powerful and evil regime ( represented by Freisler) challenged by 2 young students.

Sophie Scholl is not a familiar name in Britain but it is hard to over estimate the regard she has in Germany. A recent magazine in Germany with a readership of 4 million voted her "the most important women of the 2oth century and young viewers of a German TV channel voted her "the most important German of all time".

This is a film people need to see, it has a far greater impact due to the fact it is actually German rather than an American or British production.

As a movie, Sophie Scholl offers a lasting tribute and makes a statement relevant to today's society, as people all over the world have much greater freedom of speech, we must never forget the reasons we are in that position.

Good Night And Good Luck (2005)

Although covering a period of history that may be slightly unfamiliar to British audiences, "Good Night" concentrates on issues still relevant today in America.

It is the year 1954 and television journalist Edward R Murrow and his team of dedicated staff challenge the tactics used by "Commie bashing" senator Joe McCarthy. In an era of extreme anti-communist suspicions and fear brought on by the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union, Murrow attempts to discredit McCarthy and his unsubstantiated claims.

McCarthy's Claims of Soviet spies and Communist party members in American government and the armed forces are challenged live on TV in the CBS show "See It Now" as Murrow defies Public and internal pressure.

Continuing a seemingly never ending character assassination of Joe McCarthy, Good Night is nevertheless a riveting good watch.
Shot in beautiful black and white Monochrome and flawlessly directed by George Clooney, this movie spotlessly resembles the very era it is trying to emulate.
A short running time hardly stretches the thespian skills of the majority of the talented actors on display. David Strathairn is the exception as the seemingly honest and credible Rob Murrow. His performance is nigh on perfect as his anguished face betrays his determined stance and makes you genuinely believe this is a man who is struggling with his inner demons.
The interspersion of the real Joe McCarthy ( and his hearings) into proceedings, although gimmicky, works well and provides a genuine fly on the wall feel. Clooney continues to move away from his pretty boy persona and is now becoming a filmmaker of some note, this is a movie obviously close to his heart ( he majored in Journalism at College and his father was a TV journalist for many years) and it shows on every level.
Sub plots in the movie involving a clandestine marriage and a suicide of an estranged journalist are slightly jarring within the context of the movie and fail to add anything to proceedings.

Good Night works well as an excellent dramatisation and portrays a turbulent and challenging period of American Modern History, this film recreates the golden age of television and delivers a morality play in which the main protagonists eventually get their comeuppance.

This Is England (2006)

Shane Meadows continues to justify his tag as the British Martin Scorsese with this riveting portrayal of life in Thatchers Britain circa 1983.

Thomas Turgoose plays Shaun, a 12 year old boy a troubled and alienated boy who is bullied at school. Shaun's father has recently been killed fighting in the Falklands War.

Finding friendship with a gang of jovial and older skinheads, Shaun gradually becomes accepted and discovers a world of Ben Sherman shirts, Doc Martins, Parties and girls.

The return of Combo (Stephen Graham), an older more extreme skinhead threatens to tear the group apart and Shaun believing he has found a suitable role model begins to drift into a more dangerous and radical lifestyle.

Dead Mans Shoes is one of my personal favourite movies of the 21st century, it is a raw and unflinching film depicting life at the bottom end of British society, This Is England carries on this theme but moves the action back 20 years.

An astonishingly understated performance by Turgoose matched by a fierce (and almost sympathetic) one by Graham is the anchor of this gripping movie. In fact all the performances are top drawer and at times you almost believe you are watching a documentary.

Meadows seems to have been meticulous with the wardrobe and the sets and one of my impressions was of actually watching a film made in 1983 (although with very high production standards).

Grahams racist, almost psychotic character is not a stereotype, hes real in a brutal and raw way and he reflects a violent and selfish British society that existed in the early eighties.

The racist overtones are handled well and we are subject to a look at what life was really like for Black and Asian people in Britain at this time.

I have seen this film likened to American History X on some Websites which I think is nonsense, the racism card is only a small part of This is England whereas in x its the whole story.

This Is England is essentially a coming of age movie, a dark, grim, relentless and at times very funny film that also offers a little bit of hope, Woody's skinhead gang look like serious troublemakers but in actual fact are genuinely nice people. They just happen to be young social outcasts looking to survive with nothing to look forward to but a bleak future.

Combo although morally repugnant almost finds redemption at the end and he is haunted by the life he has not had and the life he never will( his scene with Lol in the car borders on the heartbreaking).

Meadows has delivered the goods again, his direction is faultless and the soundtrack is brilliant. (although one of my only quibbles concerns a few to many Reservoir Dogs type procession shots).

This is England is without a doubt one of the best movies of the year and its nice to see a British director sticking to his guns and proving that this country can provide more than Period and costume dramas and East end gangster flicks (Guy Ritchie, take note).

The Top 20 Films Of The 21st Century (so far)

I first set out to compile a top ten list of MY favourite movies of the noughties and realised 10 couldn't’ really cover it, so here it is, the top 20, even now I regret the omission of any Far East Horror Movies, Oldboy, Amelie, You, Me and Everyone we know, A Very Long Engagement, The Beach, Spiderman 2, Catch Me If You can, Monsters Ball, Narc, Final Destination (the first and sequel), Jeepers Creepers (but not the terrible sequel) and more surprisingly, House Of 1000 Corpses which had some terrible reviews but had a director who experimented with nearly every scene he shot and totally refused to follow the teen friendly horror route. I make no excuses for featuring 4 End of the world movies, 3 of which are zombie movies as these are my two favourite Genres (I couldn't really justify including Resident Evil Apocalypse, which was much better than the reviews but hardly a great film).

In order of favourites,

(1) The Aviator (2004) A masterpiece, a top director who’s been making quality films for over 30 years uses new tricks, a fantastic (true) story and an amazing performance from almost certainly the best and most charismatic actor in the world at the moment.

(2) City Of God (2002) Very very powerful movie works simply because it looks so real. The IMDB “(the bible”) lists this film as the 15th best ever of all time and they are rarely wrong. Makes Goodfellas look like an episode of the good life.

(3) Kill Bill Vol 1/Kill Bill Vol 2 (2003/2004) Tarentino is a genius, love him or loathe him, no one can touch him for sheer brilliant storytelling, Vol 1 is an adrenaline rush, Vol 2 is classy melodrama.

(4) Dead Mans Shoes (2004) Raw, brutal and uncompromising revenge movie with some of the best acting you will ever see. Paddy Considine is unbelievable. When on form the British make the best films in the world.

(5) Shaun Of The Dead (2004) A homage (not a spoof), which is very funny, very tense and at times extremely heartbreaking, made by people who genuinely love their source material.

(6) Birth (2004) None of the Oscar winners for best picture in the last five years have had a spark of originality about them. This has it in spades, very controversial, very brave and always beautiful to watch.

(7) The Descent (2005) One of the most possible pants wetting movies you will ever see, definitely the most squirming in your seat film of the 21st Century.

(8) Battle Royale (2000) A movie Hollywood would never touch, an all action thought provoking classic only the Japanese could make.

(9) Secretary (2002) A genuinely original love story between two very strange but extremely likable people.

(10) Switchblade Romance (2003) The French tackle splatter movies and do it with style and panache. The most ludicrously over the top twist in movie history too. What is there not to like?

(11) 28 Days Later (2002) A raw British horror movie that pulls no punches. A very good director uses every trick in the book to make a relatively low budget flick look better than a thousand Matrix wannabees put together.

(12)Donnie Darko (2001) Weird and wonderful. A cult movie if ever I’ve seen one. Great ensemble cast too with a star making performance from Jake Gyllenhall.

(13)My Summer Of Love (2004) Very classy drama that the BBC and Channel 4 used to do in their sleep before their obsession with reality TV. Paddy Considine, the new De Niro? No, he’s better.

(14)Dog Soldiers (2002) All out horror action movie from the director of the Descent. Again this is a perfect example of how to make a movie on a tight budget.

(15)Chopper (2000) The Australians used to make a lot of good movies, not so much these days. This is an excellent Prison movie that becomes a searing crime drama. Eric Bana is awesome in this.

(16)Dawn Of The Dead (2004) The original is possibly the best Horror movie of all time. The best compliment I can pay this re-make is that’s its on a par with the 1978 movie.

(17)Sideways (2004) I shouldn't like this movie about two 40 something wasters who like wine but I do. It’s a great slice of Americana.

(18)The Day after Tomorrow (2004) Cracking adventure yarn with some of the finest special effects ever put on film. How true to life could this movie actually be?

(19)8 Mile (2002) Eminem is fantastic in an extremely well written gritty drama that explores the bottom end of American society.

(20) Children Of Men (2006) Welcome to a real and raw action thriller with proper actors and Micheal Caine as an ex hippy, it doesn't get any better than that.

http://www.imdb.com/